Volume 5 — ABU AL-HUSN AND HIS SLAVE-GIRL TAWADDUD.[281] (continued 2)

He continued, “What thing was it, whose first state was wood and 237its last life?”—Moses’ staff,^[440] when he cast it on the valley-ground and it became, by permission of Allah, a writhing serpent. (¿) “What is the meaning of the word of the Lord, ‘And I have other occasion for it?’”^[441]—He, Moses, was wont to plant his staff in the ground, and it would flower and fruit and shade him from the heat and from the cold. Moreover, it would carry him when he was weary, and whilst he slept guard his sheep from lions and wild beasts. (¿) “What woman was born of a man alone and what man of a woman alone?”—Eve of Adam and Jesus of Mary.^[442] (¿) “Tell me of the four fires, what fire eateth and drinketh; what fire eateth but drinketh not; what fire drinketh but eateth not and what other neither eateth nor drinketh?”—The fire of the world eateth but drinketh not; the fire which eateth and drinketh is Hell-fire; the fire of the sun drinketh but eateth not, and the fire of the moon neither eateth nor drinketh. (¿) “Which is the open door and which the shut?”—The Traditional Ordinances are the open door, the Koranic the shut door. (¿) “Of what doth the poet speak, when he saith:—

And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, ✿ When he eateth of that meat, of words he waxeth fain:

238He riseth and he walketh and he talketh without tongue; ✿ And returneth to the tomb where his kith and kin are lain.

No living wight is he, yet in honour he abides; ✿ Nor dead yet he deserveth that Allah him assain.”

She replied, “The reed-pen.”^[443] Quoth he, “What doth the poet refer to in these verses:—

Two vests in one; blood flowing easiest wise; ✿ Rosy red ears and mouth wide open lies;

It hath a cock-like form, its belly pecks ✿ And, if you price it, half a dirham buys.”

She replied, “The ink-case.” Quoth he, “And in these:—

Ho say to men of wisdom, wit and lore ✿ To sapient, reverend, clever counsellor:

Tell me what was’t you saw that bird bring forth ✿ When wandering Arab-land and Ajam o’er?

No flesh it beareth and it hath no blood, ✿ Nor down nor any feathers e’er it wore.

‘Tis eaten cooked and eke ‘tis eaten cold; ✿ ‘Tis eaten buried ‘neath the flames that roar:

It showeth two-fold colours, silver white ✿ And yellow brighter than pure golden ore:

‘Tis not seen living or we count it dead: ✿ So ree my riddle rich in marvel-store!”

She replied, “Thou makest longsome the questioning anent an egg worth a mite.” “And this?:”—

I waved to and fro and he waved to and fro, ✿ With a motion so pleasant, now fast and now slow;

And at last he sunk down on my bosom of snow; ✿ “Your lover friend?”

—“No friend, my fan;”^[444] said she. (¿) “How many words did Allah speak to Moses?”—It is related of the Apostle that he said, “God spoke to Moses fifteen hundred and fifteen words.” (¿) “Tell me of fourteen things that speak to the Lord of the Worlds?”—The seven heavens and the seven earths, when they say, ‘We come obedient to Thy command.’^[445]——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

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Now when it was the Four Hundred and Fifty-ninth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel made the answer, the philosopher continued, “Tell me of Adam and how he was first created?” and she said, “Allah created Adam of clay: the clay He made of foam and the foam of the sea, the sea of darkness, darkness of light, light of a fish, the fish of a rock, the rock of a ruby, the ruby of water, and the water He created by His Omnipotence according to His saying (exalted be His name!), ‘His commandment when He willeth aught, is but to say, BE,—and IT IS.’”^[446] (¿) “What is meant by the poet in these verses:—

And eater lacking mouth and even maw; ✿ Yet trees and beasts to it are daily bread:

Well fed it thrives and shows a lively life, ✿ But give it water and you do it dead?”

“This,” quoth she, “is Fire.” “And in these;” he asked:—

“Two lovers barred from every joy and bliss, ✿ Who through the livelong night embracing lie:

They guard the folk from all calamities, ✿ But with the rising sun apart they fly?”

She answered, “The leaves of a door.” Quoth he, “Tell me of the gates of Gehenna?” Quoth she, “They are seven in number and their names are comprised in these two couplets:—

Jahannam, next Lazá, and third Hatím; ✿ Then count Sa’ír and Sakar eke, five-fold,

Sixth comes Jahím and Háwiyah the seventh; ✿ Here are seven Hells in four lines briefly told.”

Quoth he “To what doth the poet refer when he saith:—

She wears a pair of ringlets long let down ✿ Behind her, as she comes and goes at speed,

And eye that never tastes of sleep nor sheds ✿ A tear, for ne’er a drop it hath at need;

That never all its life wore stitch of clothes; ✿ Yet robes mankind in every mode of weed?”

240Quoth she, “A needle.” (¿) “What is the length and what the breadth of the bridge Al-Sirát?”—Its length is three thousand years’ journey, a thousand in descent and a thousand in ascent and a thousand level: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair.——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixtieth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel had described to him Al-Sirat, the philosopher said, “Inform me how many intercessions with Allah hath the Prophet for each soul?”^[447]—Three. (¿) “Was Abu Bakr the first who embraced Al-Islam?”—Yes. (¿) “Yet Ali became a Moslem before him?”—Ali came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years old, for Allah vouchsafed him knowledge of the way of salvation in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to idols. Quoth he, “Tell me which is the more excellent, Ali or Abbás?” Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim was laying a trap for her; for if she said, “Ali is more excellent than Abbas,” she would lack excuse with the Caliph for undervaluing his ancestor; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, then paling, and lastly said, “Thou askest me of two excellent men, each having his own excellence. Let us return to what we were about.” When the Caliph Harun al-Rashid heard her, he stood up and said, “Thou hast spoken well, by the Lord of the Ka’abah, O Tawaddud!” Then quoth Ibrahim the rhetorician, “What meaneth the poet when he saith:—

Slim-wasted one, whose taste is sweetest-sweet, ✿ Likest a lance whereon no head we scan:

And all the lieges find it work them weal, ✿ Eaten of afternoon in Ramazan.”

She answered, “The sugar-cane;” and he said, “Tell me of many 241things.” Asked she, “What are they?” and he said, “What is sweeter than honey; what is sharper than the sword; what is swifter than poison; what is the delight of a moment and what the contentment of three days; what is the pleasantest of days; what is the joy of a week; what is that debt the worst debtor denieth not; what is the prison of the tomb; what is the joy of the heart; what is the snare of the soul; what is death-in-life; what is the disease that may not be healed; what is the shame that may not be wiped off; what is the beast that woneth not in cultivated fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent beasts?” Quoth she, “Hear what I shall say in reply; then put off thy clothes, that I may explain to thee;” and the Caliph said, “Expound, and he shall doff his clothes.” So she said, “Now that, which is sweeter than honey, is the love of pious children to their two parents; that, which is sharper than the sword, is the tongue; that, which is swifter than poison, is the Envier’s eye; the delight of a moment is carnal copulation and the contentment of three days is the depilatory for women; the pleasantest of days is that of profit on merchandise; the joy of a week is the bride; the debt, which the worst debtor denieth not, is death; the prison of the tomb is a bad son; the joy of the heart is a woman obedient to her husband (and it is said also that, when fleshmeat descendeth upon the heart, it rejoiceth therein); the snare of the soul is a disobedient slave; death-in-life is poverty; the disease that may not be healed is an ill-nature, and the shame that may not be wiped away is an ill daughter; lastly, the beast that woneth not in cultivated fields, but lodgeth in waste places and hateth the sons of Adam and hath in him somewhat of the make of seven strong and violent beasts, is the locust, whose head is as the head of a horse, its neck as the neck of the bull, its wings as the wings of the vulture, its feet as the feet of the camel, its tail as the tail of the serpent, its belly as the belly of the scorpion and its horns as the horns of the gazelle.” The Caliph was astounded at her quickness and understanding, and said to the rhetorician, “Doff thy clothes.” So he rose up and cried, “I call all who are present in this assembly to witness that she is more learned than I and every other learned man.” And he put off his clothes and gave them to her, saying, “Take them and may Allah not bless them to thee!” So the Caliph ordered him fresh clothes and said, “O Tawaddud, there is one thing left of that for which thou didst 242engage, namely, chess.” And he sent for experts of chess and cards^[448] and trictrac. The chess-player sat down before her, and they set the pieces, and he moved and she moved; but, every move he made she speedily countered,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-first Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the damsel was playing chess with the expert in presence of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, whatever move he made was speedily countered by her, till she beat him and he found himself checkmated. Quoth he, “I did but lead thee on, that thou mightest think thyself skilful: but set up again, and thou shalt see.” So they placed the pieces a second time, when he said in himself, “Open thine eyes or she will beat thee.” And he fell to moving no piece, save after calculation, and ceased not to play, till she said, “Thy King is dead!—Checkmate.” When he saw this he was confounded at her quickness and understanding; but she laughed and said, “O professor, I will make a wager with thee on this third game. I will give thee the queen and the right-hand castle and the left-hand knight; if thou beat me, take my clothes, and if I beat thee, I will take thy clothes.” Replied he, “I agree to this;” and they replaced the pieces, she removing queen, castle and knight.^[449] Then said she, “Move, O master.” So he moved, saying to himself, “I cannot but beat her, with such odds,” and planned a combination; but, behold, she moved on, little by little, till she made one of her pawns^[450] a queen and pushing up to him 243pawns and other pieces, to take off his attention, set one in his way and tempted him to take it. Accordingly, he took it and she said to him, “The measure is meted and the loads equally balanced.^[451] Eat till thou art over-full; naught shall be thy ruin, O son of Adam, save thy greed. Knowest thou not that I did but tempt thee, that I might finesse thee? See: this is check-mate!” adding, “So doff off thy clothes.” Quoth he, “Leave me my bag-trousers, so Allah repay thee;” and he swore by Allah that he would contend with none, so long as Tawaddud abode in the realm of Baghdad. Then he stripped off his clothes and gave them to her and went away. Thereupon came the backgammon-player, and she said to him, “If I beat thee, this day, what wilt thou give me?” Quoth he, “I will give thee ten suits of brocade of Constantinople, figured with gold, and ten suits of velvet and a thousand gold pieces; and if I beat thee, I ask nothing but that thou write me an acknowledgment of my victory.” Quoth she, “To it, then, and do thy best.” So they played, and he lost and went away, chattering in Frankish jargon and saying, “By the bounty of the Commander of the Faithful, there is not her like in all the regions of the world!” Then the Caliph summoned players on instruments of music and asked her, “Dost thou know aught of music?”; when she answered, “Even so!” He bade bring a worn lute, polished by use, whose owner forlorn and lone was by parting trodden down; and of which quoth one, describing it:—

Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree ✿ Struck root deep down, and raised head a-sky:

The birds o’ersang it when green its wood; ✿ And the Fair o’ersing now the wood is dry.

So they brought the lute in a bag of red satin, with tassels of saffron-coloured silk: and she opened the bag, and took it out and behold on it was graven:—

Oft hath a tender bough made lute for maid, ✿ Whose swift sweet lays at feast men’s hearts invade:

She sings; it follows on her song, as though ✿ The Bulbuls^[452] taught her all the modes she played.

244She laid her lute in her lap and with bosom inclining over it, bent to it with the bending of a mother who suckleth her child; then she preluded in twelve different modes, till the whole assembly was agitated with delight, like a waving sea, and she sang the following:—

Cut short this strangeness, leave unruth of you; ✿ My heart shall love you aye, by youth of you!

Have ruth on one who sighs and weeps and moans, ✿ Pining and yearning for the troth of you.

The Caliph was ravished and exclaimed, “Allah bless thee and be merciful to him who taught thee!”: whereupon she rose and kissed the ground before him. Then he sent for money and paid her master Abu al-Husn an hundred thousand gold pieces to her price; after which he said to her, “O Tawaddud, ask a boon of me!” Replied she, “I ask of thee that thou restore me to my lord who sold me.” “‘Tis well,” answered the Caliph and restored her to her master and gave her five thousand dinars for herself. Moreover, he appointed Abu al-Husn one of his cup-companions for a permanence,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

Now when it was the Four Hundred and Sixty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the Caliph gave the damsel five thousand dinars for herself and restored her to her master whom he appointed one of his cup-companions for a permanence and assigned him a monthly stipend of a thousand dinars so long as he should live; and he abode with the damsel Tawaddud in all solace and delight of life. Marvel then, O King, at the eloquence of this damsel and the hugeness of her learning and understanding and her perfect excellence in all branches of art and science; and consider the generosity of the Commander of the Faithful, Harun al-Rashid, in that he gave her master this money and said to her, “Ask a boon of me;” and she besought him to restore her to her lord. So he restored her to him and gave her five thousand dinars for herself and made him one of his boon-companions. Where is such generosity to be found after the Abbaside Caliphs?—May Allah Almighty have mercy upon them, one and all! And they tell a tale of

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